The Role of Insurance Companies in Personal Injury Litigation
Insurance companies play a pivotal role in personal injury litigation. Seriously injured people that seek compensation are faced with navigating a complex system of insurance. If you are injured by another person’s negligence, you have the option to sue that person. When you decide to sue someone for their negligence, it is their insurance company that responds to the claim. However, this is not the only insurance company involved in most serious personal injury claims. In motor vehicle cases, key benefits are provided by the injured person’s own insurance company through Ontario’s no-fault accident benefits system. Many injured people also have insurance claims with long-term disability insurers. There are also government “insurance” schemes, like Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPP-D), that also play a role in compensating injured people for their losses.
Navigating this complicated web of insurance coverage is impossible without an experienced personal injury lawyer. While the system is designed to fully compensate injured people for their losses, there are inevitable challenges that arise.
Insurers for negligent people and companies don’t pay out claims easily and they often will fight tooth and nail. In order to get fair compensation from these insurers, a case must be built that will succeed at trial. This involves mustering the evidence including hiring well qualified engineering, medical and other experts.
We pay insurance premiums our whole lives thinking that our own insurance company will pay out the benefits that we are entitled to if we are ever injured. Our motor vehicle insurers are required to pay an income replacement benefit, and fund vital medical and rehabilitation care. Long-term disability insurers are also required pay you benefits if you cannot work. Unfortunately, the reality is that these insurers will often deny your claims and benefits. Without good legal representation, many people go without the income and care that they need after being seriously injured.
At Oatley Vigmond, we have several former experienced insurance adjusters who work on these claims as Accident Benefits Specialists. They know the ins and outs of the system and, with our lawyers, advocate for the benefits that our clients deserve.
Written By
Troy Lehman joined Oatley Vigmond in 2006 and became a partner in 2010. As a personal injury lawyer, his greatest satisfaction comes from helping people through to the other side of a difficult time in their lives. “We’re here to help and relieve stress,” Troy says. “When I walk into a first meeting with a client, people are often scared and anxious. And for me, the best thing that can happen at the end of the meeting is that they say, ‘I feel so much better.’